Apple Claims ‘Unauthorized’ Battery Warning Is to Keep Customers Safe

Apple is claiming a warning message that appears in iPhone software following a battery replacement by anyone but an Apple employee or certified technician was implemented in the name of customer safety.

It was recently reported that tech giant Apple had taken further steps to prevent iPhone owners from having their products independently repaired by locking iPhone software so it displays a battery warning message if the iPhone battery has been independently replaced. This message appears even if an authentic iPhone battery is used in the replacement process, as Breitbart News reported:

Tech giant Apple is taking further steps from preventing their customers from repairing the products they purchased. Apple is reportedly activating hidden software within iPhones that will display a message indicating that users need to service their battery if they replace the default battery with a third-party one, or even if the replacement is an Apple original battery, but the installation isn’t authenticated by an Apple service provider.

The “service” message appears in the “Battery Health” section of the settings and is usually an indication that the battery in the phone is degraded and needs to be replaced. Unless verified by an Apple employee or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, the battery health section of the iPhone will always show the “service message” and display no information about the third party battery.

The issue was first noted by the YouTube channel, The Art of Repair, and was verified by iFixIt. In the Art of Repair’s video on the issue, after swapping a genuine Apple battery for a third party battery in an iPhone XS, the phone displayed a “service” message followed by an“Important Battery Message” stating that the phone is “unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery.”

Now, Apple has explained this warning message, with a spokesperson telling the Verge in an email: “We take the safety of our customers very seriously and want to make sure any battery replacement is done properly. There are now over 1,800 Apple authorized service providers across the US so our customers have even more convenient access to quality repairs.”

The statement from the spokesperson further adds:

Last year we introduced a new feature to notify customers if we were unable to verify that a new, genuine battery was installed by a certified technician following Apple repair processes. This information is there to help protect our customers from damaged, poor quality, or used batteries which can lead to safety or performance issues. This notification does not impact the customer’s ability to use the phone after an unauthorized repair.

Many are bothered, however, that the iPhone stops displaying battery health statistics entirely following an unauthorized battery replacement. Apple could still display information about the iPhone’s battery while displaying warnings relating to the authenticity of the battery. iPhones currently display important information about battery health such as if the battery is aging and in need of a replacement or is not charging properly, any customers that independently replaced their battery are not receiving this information.

Apple stated that anyone who believes that their iPhone battery is authorized and genuine should visit the Apple store that installed it so that it can be authenticated, the battery health feature should then return to normal.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolanor email him at lnolan@breitbart.com